Thread by @PrinceZexu

Lets talk about @SonicFox5000 award speech last night. He was excited, nervous and proud of who he is as a person, not just a gamer.

Of course now there is a large group of people asking why does it matter that he's gay, & black? How does a person's identity impact competition?

Gamers have this idea that society and the real world has no impact on competitive gaming, and that gaming is this meritocracy (definition below).

That idea could not be farther from the truth.

Black people have been systematically oppressed for centuries in America.

"Civil rights act was like 54 years ago!" My living parents and grandparents were alive then. Everything didnt magically fix itself after the law was created either. But thats another talk.

Black people have not had the same financial opportunities as their white counter parts, until recently. Many black people been systemically oppressed into poverty. Thats a fact, yeah there are many of us who have begun to cultivate wealth but many haven't.

So imagine growing up your parents didn't have the money to get you a PC or a Nintendo 64. The skills I learned playing goldeneye I now use in Overwatch. I have decades of experience in first person shooters. The same can be said about fighting games etc.

Sure you may now be able to afford games, consoles and PCs, but how much of a learning gap does the person whose been poor most of their life have compared to me? A lot. That already isn't a meritocracy because I'm entering the competition with skills the poor person may not.

How many LGBTQIA+ people have been thrown out of their homes for coming out to loved ones? 40% of Homeless Youth are LGBTQIA+, do you think they have the opportunity to grind out laddder wins in Street fighter when they may not have a place to sleep tomorrow? They don't.

This even extends to anyone living in a rural area. Internet access in America is mediocre at best if you're not in a major metropolitan area.

You can't get better at a game if you're lagging online every 30 seconds or getting constantly disconnected.

Competitive gaming isn't a meritocracy. If you want to go hard at fighting games, you'll need the income to travel constantly, and that shit adds up.

If you're a girl and want to go hard at any FPS or MoBA good luck finding a group who won't treat you like shit the entire time.

We have so much more work to do, in terms of accessibility for competitive gaming.

Sonicfox's declaration of being gay, black and a furry is important, because you cannot erase history or the way society has treated minorities.

Every one who is into competitive gaming should absolutely read, "The Toxic Meritocracy of Video Games" by @real_chris_paul

I promise its worth the read and I'm only 60% done it.

m.barnesandnoble.com/w/The-Toxic-Me…

This blew up! I dont have a sound cloud, but please check out my friend @OhHeyDJ and @Roobots podcast @TheMagicalBoys for more queer of color content.

Hit up my friend @StephenGamesXB1 to support LGBTQIA+ streamers.

And of course @bluekeyblade 's podcast @trashofcolor